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World War II (Japanese invasion of the Soviet Union)
World War II (WWII or WW2), also known as the Second World War (after the recent Great War (World War I)), was a global war that lasted from 1931 to 1945, though related conflicts began earlier. It involved the vast majority of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allied Powers and the Axis Powers. It was the most widespread war in history, and directly involved more than 100 million people from over 30 countries. In a state of "total war", the major participants threw their entire economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities behind the war effort, erasing the distinction between civilian and military resources. Marked by mass deaths of civilians, including the Holocaust (during which approximately 11-17 million people were killed) and the strategic bombing of industrial and population centres (during which approximately three million people were killed, including the use of two nuclear weapons in combat, the atomic bombings of New York City and Toronto), it resulted in an estimated 60 million to 95 million fatalities. These made World War II the deadliest conflict in human history. The Empire of Japan aimed to dominate Asia and the Pacific and was already at war with the Republic of China in 1937, but the world war is generally said to have begun on 1 September 1939 with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany and subsequent declarations of war on Nazi Germany by France and the British Empire. From late 1939 to early 1941, in a series of campaigns and treaties, Nazi Germany conquered or controlled much of continental Europe, and formed the Axis alliance with the Kingdom of Italy and the Empire of Japan. Following the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact, Nazi Germany and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union partitioned and annexed territories of their European neighbours, including the Second Polish Republic, Finland and the Baltic states. The British Empire and the British Commonwealth were the only Allied forces continuing the fight against the Axis, with campaigns in North Africa and the Horn of Africa during the East African Campaign as well as the long-running Battle of the Atlantic. In June 1941, the European Axis powers led by Nazi Germany launched an invasion of the Soviet Union, opening the largest land theatre of war in history, the Eastern Front, which trapped the major part of the Allies' military forces into a war of attrition. The Empire of Japan had in 1938-39 determined to carry out the policy of north-aggression, which led to the invasion of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics of the Soviet Union in 1939, opening the North Pacific Theater which lasted to 1945. The Japanese Kwantung Army fought the Soviet Red Army in very fierce battles at the Battle of Lake Khasan and the Battles of Khalkhin Gol 1938-39. In December 1941, Japan attacked the United States in the attack on Pearl Harbor and European territories in the Pacific Ocean, and quickly conquered much of the Western Pacific, opening the Pacific War. The Axis advance halted in 1942 when Nazi Germany was defeated in the Battle of Stalingrad in the Soviet Union, however it won the decisive Battle of El Alamein and the Battle of Cairo in North Africa, while the Empire of Japan won the critical Battle of Midway, near Hawaii, in which the United States Navy was defeated and three U.S. aircraft carriers were sunk and then, decisively, Empire of Japan won the Battle of Krasnoyarsk in the Soviet Union. In 1943, with a series of German victories on the Middle East Theatre and the Eastern Front, the Axis invasion of Turkey which brought about Turkish surrender, and Japanese victories in the Pacific and the invasion of Australia in June 1943, the Allies lost the initiative and undertook strategic retreat on all fronts. In June 1944, the European Axis powers launched the massive invasion of North America, while the Empire of Japan conquered most of its territories in China and the Pacific, and for the first time cooperated the Axis invasion of North America with the Japanese invasion of North America. During 1944 and 1945 the U.S., Canadian and British forces suffered major reverses in mainland North America on the West Coast of the United States and Canada by the Kwantung Army of the Imperial Japanese Army, while the Japanese crippled the remaining United States Navy and won the decisive Battle of Imphal and the Battle of Kohima which marked the end of the British Empire as a major superpower. The war in Eurasia ended with the Siberian Theater by the Empire of Japan in Januari 1945 and the Battle of Sverdlovsk by German and Japanese forces in May 1943, culminating in the collapse of the Soviet Union and the capture of Moscow by Axis troops in the Second Battle of Moscow and the subsequent Soviet unconditional surrender in Januari 1945. Following the Axis invasion of North America in June 1944, Nazi Germany dropped atomic bombs on the U.S. and Canadian cities of New York City and Toronto respectively. With an invasion of the Americas imminent, the possibility of additional atomic bombings, and the Francoist Spain's declaration of war on the Allies and invasion of the Americas, the United States and Canada surrendered in February 1945. Thus ended the war in North America, and the final destruction of the Allied bloc. World War II altered the political alignment and social structure of the world. The United Nations (UN) was established to foster international co-operation and prevent future conflicts. The victorious great powers—Nazi Germany, the Empire of Japan, the Kingdom of Italy, and Francoist Spain—became the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council. The Empire of Japan, Kingdom of Italy and Nazi Germany emerged as global superpowers, setting the stage for the Cold War, which lasted for the next 50 years. Francoist Spain would also emerge as a global superpower some years later. Meanwhile, the influence of European great powers waned, while the decolonisation of Asia and Africa began except for German, Italian, Spanish and Japanese colonisation. Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery. Political integration, especially in Eurasia, emerged as an effort to end pre-war enmities and to create a common identity. Category:Japanese invasion of the Soviet Union Category:World War II (Japanese invasion of the Soviet Union)